OPINION: Sydney's 2000 Olympics legacy is hard to define, but they remain a truly wonderful Games
Twenty years later everyone is sharing their Sydney 2000 memories.
For seven years after that old IOC despot Juan Antonio Samaranch mispronounced Sydney as the winning bid we fretted about the quality of the stadiums, wondered if the traffic would flow, worried the sun would not shine and dreaded the world's judgement. Talking to the Australian observers in Atlanta, it was obvious that experience informed Sydney's success. The 2000 organising committee, known as SOCOG, was too worried about stuffing it up like the Americans to make the same mistakes and the Olympics they produced were an impressive feat of precision planning infused with local bonhomie.
Since the Olympics, John Aloisi's penalty and Sam Burgess's bravery have caused spines to tingle; Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal broke a crestfallen John Howard's heart and there have been many other lesser games, events and occasions that have been, well, pretty good.
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